Alternate Universes
by Luthien Potter
Summary: TOTALLY AU! A 'What If' story. What if Voldemort had died that night at Godric's Hollow, without killing Lily and James Potter? How would that have happened? Almost non-mentionable violence & language. Chapter 7AUTHOR'S NOTE! PLEASE READ!
1. Defeating the Darkness

Hello once again, dear readers! Once again, I bring to you the wanderings of my mind. This hit me while I was in the shower, of all places, and kept pestering me until I wrote it down. This is COMPLETELY AU!!! It is a 'what if' story! It may turn into a multi-chapter story, but not until I have reviews giving me some constructive criticism on it! I need five reviews before another chapter goes up, so when you get to the end, be sure to press the button!  
  
Oh, oh, shameless plug for my other work! I have another HP story, and two- count em, two!-Lord Of The Rings stories. My other HP story is feeling very unloved at the moment, no one is reviewing! ::Cries:: please read them and review! Just a little note! So go to my author page! Take a look! Look at all of the beautiful stories residing on my favorite stories and favorite authors pages! I promise you won't be sorry!  
  
Now, before the story begins, I must include the standard disclaimer. My psychiatrist is proud of me indeed, now I don't even wince when saying they're not mine! I'm cured, yay for me! ::Does happy dance::  
  
Thank you for reading my story. It always makes me feel loved.  
  
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She wasn't sure how this had happened. One minute Lily was tucking her one year old son, Harry, into his crib, and the next, James was bursting into the room shouting that they had been found, and that she and Harry had to get out. Lily's eyes widened as James pushed Harry into her arms. "Go, Lily! Take Harry! I'll hold off Voldemort!" Lily hesitated but a moment; she knew that this was the only way for even one of them to survive. She had to hide Harry. After one last look at her husband, she turned and fled. Harry, who had been sleeping peacefully a moment before, woke up suddenly.  
  
"Mama." He said seriously. Lily looked down on him in wonder. She and James had been worried about Harry's not speaking at a year old, but why'd he had to choose this moment to start talking? /Oh/, she thought as tears gathered in her eyes, /I wish James had heard./  
  
"Mama." Harry said more insistently. "Stop!" At the urgency in the baby's voice, Lily obeyed the command without thinking. She heard James behind her.  
  
"What do you think you're doing Lily! I said go!" James shouted. But it was too late. The door of the room blew in, and Voldemort came striding into the room.  
  
"Oh, how sweet. The perfect family together for their deaths. Lovely!" Voldemort grinned, the sight sending shudders of terror through Lily. James raised his wand to Voldemort.  
  
"You won't hurt Lily or Harry. I won't let you."  
  
"Oh, won't you. You always were a bit to brave for your own well being, Potter. Expelliarmus!" Suddenly, without warning, James felt his wand being ripped out of his hands, as it flew through the air and Voldemort caught it, throwing it carelessly behind him. James' eyes followed his wand, taking careful note of where it landed, hoping for an opportunity to get it back. The Dark Lord's grin grew ever wider. "Now how are you going to save your precious family, Potter?" Voldemort raised his wand to point at James heart. "You'll go first, I think. Avada-"  
  
Harry stiffened. "NO!" He cried. The volume and power behind that tiny voice stopped all three adults, even Voldemort. The Dark Lord shook his head, and raised his wand to James once again. This time Harry threw out a tiny hand, and when he shouted "Not hurt Daddy!" a bright white light shrouded the form of his father. Lily stared in amazement. How was it that her one year old son was protecting James? As Voldemort completed the killing Curse, a stream of green light blazed from his wand. The white wall around James completed itself at that moment, and to Lily's astonishment, bounced back to Voldemort. James, within the wall of light, was staring at Lily and Harry, his blue eyes wide and fixed on his small son. Slowly, he turned his face back towards Voldemort, to see him fall to the ground. As Voldemort tried to rise, the wall around James dissipated. While Voldemort was on the ground, James carefully made his way around the prone form of the Dark Lord to his wand. James took a deep breath. Time to perform the one curse he had always prayed he'd never have to do. He glanced at Lily once, and she nodded slightly. At this sign, James raised his wand to point at the considerably weakened Voldemort, who was struggling to rise and barely making it up to his knees.  
  
"I would say I'm sorry. . .but I'm not. Avada Kadavra!" And this time, the green light blazed from James' wand, hitting Voldemort squarely. The Dark Lord didn't even scream, he just dropped back to the ground. James waited a moment, as the house in Godric's Hollow fell silent. When Voldemort didn't move, he walked over and prodded him with his foot. Voldemort still didn't move. Carefully, James reached down and pulled Voldemorts wand from his newly lifeless fingers. Stepping back towards Lily and Harry, he easily broke Voldemort's wand into four pieces. He turned to Lily and Harry. Lily was standing in the same place she had stopped with Harry-by god, was it only a minute ago?-and was holding Harry in a tight embrace, as if afraid that he might disappear at any moment. But her green eyes, Harry's eyes, were staring at him. He reached a hand towards Lily, and she stepped into his embrace, so that James was holding both Lily and Harry. As he laid his cheek atop Lily's head, he heard her whisper,  
  
"Thank you. Both of you. I love you, boys." Lily felt James smile against her hair. He spoke after a minute.  
  
"Hold on tight. I'm getting us out of here." With that, Lily felt James reach for something in his pocket. He brought out a large silver key. He offered one end to Lily. She put a hand on it, and placed one of Harry's tiny hands in the middle. James whispered "Demoveo"*, activating the portkey. Lily felt the sudden tug behind her navel, and soon found herself in the office of the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore looked up from his desk, genuine surprise flooding his normally placid face.  
  
"James? Lily? What the devil are you doing here?" Lily heard James begin to explain things to Dumbledore. Suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore. She calmly handed Harry over to her husband, and to the surprise of both James and Dumbledore fainted dead away.  
  
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* demoveo-[to move away , remove]  
  
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Remember, five reviews before another chapter goes up! Constructive criticism is a beautiful thing! Oh, and flames count too-at least I struck a chord on some level. Thank you much! ~Desertrain 


	2. Betrayal Uncovered

Okay, my last final was today, so hopefully I'll be posting regularly from now on. I don't really have more planned for this story, so it's gonna be a total fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants sort of thing. Thanks to all of my reviewers, you are all great.  
  
Inukocharm-Thanks for your review, it gave me a really good opening in here. . .see if you can find it!  
  
Immortalis_Vespers-Harry shouting "NO!" before anyone was hurt is going to figure prominently into the story. Have to wait and see!  
  
I would love to respond to all reviews, but that would take up more space than the chapter, so I'm just going to say thank you all, you helped fuel me to write more!  
  
STANDARD DISCLAIMER: All previous statements still stand. Probably from this point, I won't do a disclaimer. Just remember that no matter what I might think in my depraved imaginings, they all belong to JK Rowling.  
  
This chapter might be a little slow, but I wanted to get more out there for those of you waiting. I still want to know what you think! Loves and hugs, ~Desertrain  
  
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When Lily awoke, she realized three things at the same time. One, that she was not in her bed; two, that she wasn't entirely sure who's bed she was in, and three, she didn't have Harry or James with her any more. Just as she was about to panic, Lily noticed that she was in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. She let out a deep breath that she had been holding: that she was here meant that Harry and James were safe.  
  
At Lily's breath, James' head snapped up from where it had been lying in his hands. A grin broke across his face as he said excitedly, "Lily! You're up!" Lily turned her head and smiled at him.  
  
"Yeah, I'm up. Where's Harry?"  
  
"He's with Remus. Old Moony said that he hadn't babysat in a while, might as well make up for it now." Lily giggled. Suddenly, her smile faded.  
  
"James. . .Peter told. Didn't he." It was not so much a question as a statement of fact. James' eyes clouded over. Sirius had argued with them for a long while to make them change their choice of Secret Keeper. He had had many good points; no one would ever have thought that Peter Pettigrew, of all people, would be aligned with The Dark Lord. Obviously, Sirius had been wrong.  
  
"He had to have. Lily, I think Sirius is going to do something rash. He was here when we got here, he saw us coming out of Dumbledore's office. When he heard what happened, he stormed out of here, muttering something about killing the rat-bastard. I think he just might, too."  
  
Lily closed her eyes. She knew about Sirius' temper, and didn't doubt for a moment that he would, if he deemed it necessary, kill the other man. She just hoped it wouldn't come to that.  
  
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Sirius was a good tracker. No, make that a /great/ tracker. After Hogwarts, his entire Auror training had been based on that fact. And now, he was putting that training to good use.  
  
He had met Peter for lunch just the day before. Peter had laughed and shared stories of work at the ministry, and of the upcoming plans for James and Lily's second anniversary. Sirius started there. Peter's magical sense was still strong enough that Sirius could track it, and track it he did, like a bloodhound after a wounded fox.  
  
/Peter had better hope to whatever deity will actually listen to him that I don't find him/. Sirius thought. /Because when I do, he will pay for what he's done./  
  
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Remus looked over his shoulder at the child of his best friends. Harry was happily engrossed in a set of wooden blocks that Remus had conjured for him, building little towers and taking great delight in the crashing noise they made when the towers fell over. Remus smiled; children lived in such a protected world-when they were hurt or disturbed, their parents were there to comfort them. And Harry had almost lost that, at such a young age. Remus couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if James and Lily had died. He shuddered at the thought. A world without James and Lily was unthinkable.  
  
The only thing that bothered Remus is that by all rights, they should have died. Voldemort had had the advantage, but Harry had stopped him. Children weren't even supposed to be able to do simple magic-magical ability usually didn't manifest itself in any seriously potent form until puberty. Harry had done a spell that usually took older wizards months to master, though-and had managed to make it strong enough to repel an Unforgivable curse! The pseudo-uncle in Remus was worried, but the scholar was intrigued.  
  
"Just how strong are you, little man? You've already proved that you can protect others, how can we help you protect yourself?" Harry's only answer was a slightly snaggle-toothed grin at Remus. Remus smiled back.  
  
"You're right. No use worrying about it at the moment. Hey, let's go see if Mama's awake yet, hmmm?" And with that, Remus swept Harry off the floor and into his arms, eliciting a giggle from the small toddler, and headed towards the hospital wing.  
  
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Lily and James Potter were sitting quietly, enjoying just being together and alive, when a voice called form the doorway of the hospital wing.  
  
"Hey! Room in here for visitors?" Another, smaller voice piped up just after  
  
"Mama! Daddy!" James looked at Remus and Harry, a bit stunned. Remus looked at Harry, also a bit stunned. Lily looked at both James and Remus, a bit amused. They all looked at each other, with big, goofy smiles on their faces.  
  
"Did our boy just talk?" James asked.  
  
"Yes, yes he did. Didn't you hear him at the house?" asked Lily. James shook his head.  
  
"I was a bit preoccupied with the big, scary Dark Lord who had just burst into my son's bedroom." Lily thwacked James upside the head lightly.  
  
"Be nice. It was your son who stopped said big, scary Dark Lord from killing both of us."  
  
James looked at Harry. "Wow. /Our/ kid? Quite a trick there, little buddy." Harry smiled widely at his father, and held his arms out towards him. James walked around the bed to take his son from Remus, who gladly handed him over and took a seat beside Lily's bed.  
  
"So, when's the jail keeper going to let you out of here?" Lily gave Remus a reproachful look, and shook her head.  
  
"She wants to make sure that I'm okay, not in shock or anything. I should be out of here in an hour, at the most." Remus nodded, and looked like he was about to say something else, when Dumbledore came into the room.  
  
"Good, Remus, you're here. I need the three of you to come into my office. Now."  
  
Lily got out of bed, and headed behind the nearest changing stand. "What's going on, Professor?"  
  
"Sirius has returned. And the news, I am afraid, is not good."  
  
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Oh no! What could Sirius have possibly found? How will the Potters deal with a new threat? What is to happen to Peter? I promise to answer all this and more, eventually. More Sirius in the next chapter. I think I'm going to enjoy writing him!  
  
The more reviews I get, the faster I write! As a wise old man in a completely different story-verse once said, "Please, leave a contribution in the little box".  
  
~Desertrain 


	3. The Betrayer CaughtAlmost

Right, people, I no longer have a CLUE as to where this is heading. This chapter was written TOTALLY off the top of my head, so nothing is developed to come after it. Know what this means?  
  
YOU HAVE TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!  
  
Comments, suggestions, etc. are greatly appreciated. There will be more, I just have to figure it out. This entire story has gone straight from head to computer while I'm sitting here, so I was nervous as to what people would think of it. I am SO glad that so many of you are liking this story. For something that started as an idea while taking a shower at 1 a.m., it's turned out rather well. THANK YOU!!  
  
Enjoy the tale, folks!  
  
~Desertrain  
  
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/Yes/ thought Sirius. /Go about your errands, looking behind you every couple of minutes. You won't see me./ Peter Pettigrew had stopped at a shop window, and was gazing at the contents of the store. Sirius, being the tracker that he was, hadn't taken long to catch up with Peter. His mind had been focused solely on his prey. His Auror trainers would have been proud. Now, all Sirius had to do was wait for the proper moment to spring and catch Peter. Just a few more seconds. . .he would be at that alleyway. . .a perfect place to herd him into to capture and apparate him to the ministry jailhouse. . .YES!  
  
Peter had reached the alleyway. Before he could move entirely passed it, Sirius moved up and put a hand on Peter's shoulder. Peter jumped, and turned to look at Sirius. Sirius smiled, pasting a look of friendship in his face.  
  
"Hey, mate. Fancy seeing you here!"  
  
Peter let out a cross between a cough and a laugh. "Yeah. Funny. Hey, I'm really in a hurry, so; great to see you and all, but. . ." his words stopped as he realized that, as he had been stuttering his excuses to Sirius, Peter had been steered into an alleyway with no way out. The mask dropped from Sirius' face as he grabbed Peter's arm, yanked up the sleeve, and gazed upon the Dark Mark burned into Peter's flesh.  
  
"How could you?" Sirius whispered in a deadly tone. "They were your friends when the entire school would have pretended you didn't exist. They were kind to you, and look how you repay them, you. . .you. . .you. . .rat- /bastard/!!"  
  
Peter deflated. "So, the Dark Lord got them, did he? I really am sorry. I didn't have a choice, you see-I had to tell him what he wanted to know! He'd have found out anyway, and I thought that their deaths would be easier this way. I just didn't want them to suffer!"  
  
A wolfish grin spread on Sirius' face. "Backward thinking, mate. Anyway, that's where the jokes on you, isn't it? They lived, Peter. LIVED! Lived to put you to trial as a Death Eater. What is the penalty for that again? Oh, yes. . .I remember. . ."  
  
By now, Sirius had Peter by his shirt front, plastered against the wall of the alley. The thought he had Peter right where he wanted him, but he had forgotten to do one thing.  
  
Peter still had his wand.  
  
After a moment of fumbling, Peter had his wand out, and shouted "Rictusempra!" There was a loud bang, Sirius went flying back, to hit the opposite wall. Shouting could be heard now on the street, and Sirius knew that he had to get Peter and get out of Muggle London before he was arrested for assault. Peter had started running for the alley entrance, when Sirius shouted  
  
"Stupefy!" But he was too late. Peter grinned at Sirius as he disapparated, and the curse hit a muggle, who dropped like a sack of wet bricks. Sirius winced. The muggle would come out of unconsciousness soon, but he would be sore. There were people all around now, and Policemen were headed at Sirius. /Oh, dear./ Thinking fast, Sirius disapparated from the inescapable alleyway and landed a few streets over, where ha had left his motorbike. He took the bike around behind a building, and murmured the spells that would cloak him just as efficiently as an invisibility cloak, and silence any sound that the bike made. With that, Sirius took off, and started towards Hogwarts. He sighed. The others would not be pleased.  
  
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Against Madame Pomfrey's wishes, Lily was out of bed and dressed within a matter of minutes. She didn't know what it was Sirius had done, but it must be bad if Dumbledore was this worried. They were about to leave the infirmary, when Lily took note of the fact that Harry was still in James' arms. /This won't be the place to have Harry!/ Lily thought frantically. /What are we going to do with him?/ Dumbledore must have caught her hesitation, as he turned to Madame Pomfrey, who was still fretting about Lily leaving the infirmary so soon.  
  
"Poppy, so you have any other pressing duties at the moment?" Madame Pomfrey shook her head no. "Then would you be so kind as to look after young Harry, here? That way, Lily will have to come back, and you can give her another check up." Madame Pomfrey went from muttering to pleased in a heartbeat, and eagerly took Harry from James.  
  
"I'm sure the little fellow and I will get along just fine, Albus. Come on, Harry, I'll show you where you're going to spend a considerable amount of time, once you begin playing Quidditch, if you turn out anything like your father. . ."  
  
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When the group walked into Dumbledore's office, the first thing they saw was Sirius, standing by Fawkes, apparently lost in thought while stroking the bird's feathers. James grimaced. "You look horrible, mate. What've you been up to?" Sirius jumped at the sound of James' voice, and turned around quickly. He really did look bad. Tired, like he hadn't slept in a couple of days. James wondered when the last time he had eaten anything was. Probably not since he had heard about the attack. James shook his head. That was Sirius, Mr. One-Track Mind. Although, in this case, he really didn't mind.  
  
Sirius started speaking in a quiet voice, but it slowly got louder. "He got away. I made a stupid mistake, and he. Got. AWAY!"  
  
Lily put a hand on Sirius' shoulder. James waited tensely. Usually, when Sirius got like this, it was a bad idea for anyone to try to touch him. But Lily's presence seemed to be just what he needed at the moment. He looked at her, and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Lily. I should have caught him." Lily smiled and shook her head.  
  
"You did a great thing just by finding him. You know that for anyone else it would have been nearly impossible. And now he's scared. He knows you're after him. Peter doesn't think when he's scared. We can use that to our advantage." Sirius relaxed and nodded. James spoke up.  
  
"She's right, Sirius. You can't let yourself get depressed over this, because next time, he won't get away. You'll get him."  
  
Sirius looked straight into James' eyes. He knew that Sirius took his work very seriously, and he also knew that Sirius was one of the most loyal people that one could ever hope to be friends with. Sirius did not take well to betrayal. And Peter had just betrayed his friends. What James saw when Sirius looked into his eyes was frightening. James saw Sirius' urge to kill Peter with his bare hands for what he had done.  
  
"That's a promise." The two held eye contact a second longer, then both turned towards Dumbledore, who had been standing back, watching the interaction between his former students.  
  
"You're not going to like this. . ." Dumbledore announced. "Sirius is a wanted man in the Muggle news media now. The thought is somewhere along the lines of 'the perpetrator threw something bright at the victim, and he disappeared, probably vaporized.' They think you murdered him, Sirius."  
  
Sirius snorted. "Given another second, I might've," he said. "What does the wizarding world think?"  
  
Dumbledore frowned. "Well, I've let the ministry know that you weren't the secret keeper, and therefore not to blame. Slanted journalist, such as your old rival Rita Skeeter, are doing they're utmost best to malign you, but I don't think she'll get far."  
  
James elbowed Sirius. "See, I told you not to terrorize her too much when we were in school, mate. Comes back to bite you on the behind, doesn't it?" Sirius pulled a face at James as Lily snickered behind her hand. Rita Skeeter had had a huge crush on Sirius from the moment she entered school a year behind them. Unfortunately, she had sent him a Valentine poem a la singing midget that year. He had found out who had done it, and from that moment on, she had been the butt of many quite un-nice-but highly amusing-practical jokes. And now, it seemed, Sirius was paying for those moments of hilarity.  
  
"Well, as long as the wizards know I'm not a threat, I should be alright. I definitely DON'T want a stay in any Ministry holding cell, that's for sure and for certain."  
  
Remus chose this moment to speak up. "So, what /is/ the Ministry going to do about Pettigrew?" Lily winced.  
  
"I still can't believe this" she said. "Yesterday he was our Pete, all nice and lovable and slightly Hufflepuff-ish, and today he's /Pettigrew./ It all happened so fast. . ."  
  
Remus looked at Lily with a sympathetic look. "I know. I feel that way to. But there's just no way I can think that our Pete would do this. However, Pettigrew I can deal with. It may be silly, but it's as if the name creates a different entity, one that I can think clearly about." The rest of the group nodded their understanding, and the conversation went on as Dumbledore explained the Ministry's thoughts on the matter.  
  
"The Ministry is putting Aurors on the case. They are monitoring apparitions, and asking that people apparate as little as possible. The floo network is also being monitored, so it will be difficult for Pettigrew to get anywhere without being seen. When he is found, they want him stupefied, or a full body bind administered. They really want to have Pettigrew alive, so he can give them the names of other Death Eaters. But no matter if he gives those names or not, he'll spend the rest of his life in Azkaban for what he did." All four of his former students blanched at the mention of the horrible prison. At this, there wasn't much more about Peter Pettigrew to discuss, so the conversation turned to more pleasant matters. Remus turned to the Potters and asked,  
  
"So, where are you three going to set up now? I mean, the Dark Lord is gone, but do you want to go back to Godric's Hollow?" The couple shook their heads ferociously. They would never live in that house again, and they knew it.  
  
"We haven't discussed it. We need to, though." Lily admitted. She looked at James, who shrugged.  
  
"I guess we could stay at my parents house until we get a new place. They would love to have Harry there, I know, and there's more than enough room at the Manor. Unless, of course, you want to see about staying with our family?" Lily shuddered. Her parents would love to have them, she knew, but Petunia would make her life miserable. That's why she had made sure, by making Sirius Harry's godfather, that if anything happened to them, Harry would never, /ever/ fall into Petunia's hands. . .unthinkable. . .  
  
"No, James, definitely your parents. Besides, even though my parents know about the whole magic bit, it still kind of freaks them out a bit. Your parents know what just happened when you call an object from across the room that you didn't want to get up for. Mine don't." James nodded his understanding.  
  
"I'll floo home tomorrow morning. Until then, though. . ." As James trailed off, Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly.  
  
"You two do know that you are more than welcome to stay here as long as you need to, correct?" James and Lily started. They had never even thought about staying at Hogwarts. James nodded.  
  
"Thank you, sir. That would really help us out tonight, and tomorrow I'll go tell my parents to expect us. Then we'll have to start clearing out what's left of the house in Godric's Hollow. . ."  
  
And as Lily and James Potter began to make plans for their future, Madame Pomfrey found a small cut on Harry's forehead that, due to his unruly hair, had been overlooked all this time. As a result of this, Harry would always have a lighting shaped scar. 


	4. The 'Rents

Hello, my lovelies! Well, another day, another chapter. I got it done as quick as I could! And, as an extra added bonus, I'm actually replying to reviews in this chapter. I've been meaning to, so now I am! If you've left a review, find your name on my list, and feel special! I certainly do. If I've missed your name, I'm dreadfully sorry! Send me another review on this newest chapter ::grins:: and I'll get you in next time!  
  
princess55: Regarding chapter 2: Oh, everyone loves cliffhangers! I know, I know, they're evil and we complain, but we really like them. Right? ::Blinks confusedly when all and sundry shake heads vigorously:: Oh. Okay then. Scratch those from any future plans.  
  
citrus scented: ::Blushes:: WOW! Compared to the goddess herself! Those were actually some of my favorite lines, also, and I'm glad you enjoyed them. And on the shower subject, it seems to be the bathroom in general that triggers my stories, because I had an idea for another one while I was brushing my teeth at 1 am the other night. . .Go Figure. Oh! Oh!! You've read 'Cats Are Mysterious Creatures"?! I love you double now! Thank you so much! It'll probably get taken down, reworked a bit, and reposted-with your suggestion! Hope you tune in!  
  
Alexa Donaghy: Another reader of 'Cats'! I'm starting to feel loved again. . .I'm glad you enjoyed it. As I told Citrus Scented, it'll probably get taken down and reworked, but it'll be back better than ever soon afterward, I promise!  
  
Akiko Phoenix Star: Thank you so much for having me on your favorite authors list! That means a lot to me! ::skips to a sing-song voice:: I made a li-ist! I made a li-ist! ::Slaps self:: Okay. Dignified. Back Now. Seriously (Sirius-ly?) though, thanks, and I hope you continue to enjoy my stories!  
  
Abigail: That line was fun. I liked it! And I did make the story longer! See! See!! ::points at new chapters::  
  
hp lovar: Well, if you're going to be that way about it. . .of course I'll post more! I'm glad you like my story!  
  
freakyfroggurl22: I'm writing as fast as I can! I promise! More as soon as I can manage  
  
guy: I know I said 5 reviews until the second chapter, but I was literally overwhelmed by the number of reviews I got. I was not expecting that many, based on the number I had gotten from other stories. I hadn't even planned a second chapter! But I got the reviews plus some, and so wrote more. Yay!  
  
luvya: I tried! I really did! ::sob!:: I just don't write fast enough, but I'll try harder! ::runs to open new word window for more chapters before realizing that that's what this one is for. . .::  
  
Inukocharm: It was originally going to be a one shot, but wonderful reviewers such as yourself changed my mind! Yep, Peter's still a rat- bastard. ::grins::  
  
Dark /-)ngel: ::grin:: I can be good at conning reviews sometimes. Glad you enjoy the story!  
  
Immortalis_Vespers: Harry's "NO!" is going to be important to the story eventually. But I'm glad you thought my story good enough to rate constructive criticism. I appreciate it!  
  
LOLA!: Writing! Writing!  
  
Pantherocker: Thanks for your advice. I fixed the mistakes! And when you write, don't delete stories, even if you don't know where they're going. Think on it for a couple of nights, and at the most unlikely moment (such as a shower or teeth-brushing) an idea'll pop into your head. I promise! It works!  
  
Mystic Queen: Oh, no, we can't overlook Harry! Of course, this just means that he'll have to share the spotlight with Daddy, but I don't think he'll mind, do you? ::grin::  
  
Jenn009: I hope the last chapter answered some of your questions, but it probably just created more, too. ::blushes:: I can't help it. I like convoluted plots.  
  
guest type person: Curiosity is good, it keeps wonderful reviewers such as yourself coming back!  
  
Shaye Evans: Thanks, and you'll have to keep reading to find out what happens, because right now, I don't even know what's going on in this chapter. I won't know until I write the first line, and I don't even know that much yet. . .  
  
And these are all the wonderful reviewers to which I simply want to throw a huge THANK YOU!  
  
Special K; tw2qut4u; five little freaks; Slytherin Princess; MegHarts; Alaskantiger; Heather; Amelia; Jemi Fal; LoonyLoopyLisa; GunSmoke; and CapriceAnne Hedican-Kocur.  
  
Wow, that list is really long. Thanks everyone for their support! It means a lot to me that so many are enjoying this, and I hope ya'll continue enjoying it.  
  
Oh! Oh! I get to claim two new characters! Yay! William and Elizabeth Potter are mine, as are David and Rose Evans. As far as I know, neither James Potter's nor Lily and Petunia Evan's parents are ever mentioned, but I thought that they'd be neat people. And voila, here they are!  
  
Yes, yes, I know that the Dursley's were supposed to be Harry's only family; ergo, dead grandparents. But I don't like that idea, and I wanted everyone to meet the 'rents! So there. ::petulantly sticks out tongue at anyone who dares make a remark. . .which no one has done yet, so I suppose everyone's okay with it, then. . .:: On the same note, it seems to be widely accepted that James comes from a long line of pureblooded wizards and wizards, and that his family fortune rivaled the Malfoy's, so I'm going with that. Cool? Cool.  
  
And now, on with the story, in the longest chapter yet-due mostly to responses to reviews, but it's eight pages on it's own! Long for little 3- 4 page me! Yay!  
  
~Desertrain  
  
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Upon throwing a pinch of floo powder into the fireplace in their temporary room in Hogwarts, James Potter yelled "Potter Manor!" into the flames, and disappeared. Lily was to follow a moment later with little Harry, but James wanted to go on ahead to warn his parents. He landed somewhat unceremoniously on his behind in the large fireplace in the family room of the Manor, startling his mother, Elizabeth Potter, who sat on the couch reading.  
  
"James!" She exclaimed, pulling him from the fireplace. "Oh, sweetie, I heard what happened, but Dumbledore told me not to come to Hogwarts. How's Lily?" Before James had a chance to answer, here was another 'whoosh!' from the fireplace, and there stood Lily, holding Harry. She, unlike James, was able to avoid landing on her behind, and stepped demurely out of the fireplace.  
  
"Hello, Beth. How are you?" Lily asked the older Mrs. Potter, who just goggled for a moment.  
  
"How am I? How am /I/? My dear, I should ask that question of you! Merlin be merciful, I was frightened out of my /wits/ when I heard what happened at your house, and I wanted to come see you three /immediately/, of course, but Dumbledore obviously knew that, because he sent me a letter by owl post saying that it would be better for me to stay here, but that you were all safe, and Bill said the same thing, and I'm just /so/ glad you're here now!" Beth punctuated this very long sentence by throwing her arms around her only son, who looked slightly embarrassed, but hugged his mother anyway.  
  
"There, there, Mum, it's alright. We're all here and safe." James untangled himself from his mother, asking "Where's Dad?" It was at that moment that a tall figure that looked much like an older version of James dashed into the room, skidding to a halt in front of his son, daughter-in- law, and grandson, looking as if he didn't know who to hug first. Since Lily had an armful of baby, he chose James. Enfolding his son in an enormous hug, he said,  
  
"Thank goodness you're here. We were worried about you." When he released James, he took Harry from Lily. Giving his grandson a gentle hug and ruffling the hair that Harry had inherited from his father and grandfather, William Potter handed the baby to his wife, and then gave Lily the same type of bear hug he had just bestowed upon James. Lily smiled.  
  
"Hello to you, too, Bill." Bill chuckled, releasing Lily.  
  
James cleared his throat. "Mum, Dad, Lily and I have a favor to ask. . ."  
  
"Of course you can stay here, dear. Your suite is still he way it's always been. You can transfigure your bed into a bigger one, can't you?" James nodded mutely. He was confused as to how his parents had known what he was going to ask. Beth smiled. "Oh, come now, what else could you be asking for? Godric's Hollow is a lovely place, but /I/ certainly wouldn't want to go back there." Grins spread over the faces of James and Lily, who were much relieved at the turn of events. Harry could sense the happy atmosphere in the room, apparently, because he gave his grandmother a resounding kiss on the cheek.  
  
"Gamamma!" He cried. Beth looked surprised, and then grinned around at her family.  
  
"Listen to that! He talked!" Lily and James nodded, already aware of this fact. Bill leaned over, putting his face in front of Harry.  
  
"And what to I get, sir?" He asked. Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, then grinned.  
  
"Gadaddy!" he said decisively. Lily grinned even wider at the look of contentment on Bill's face.  
  
"Well, congratulations. You've officially gone from Mum and Dad to Grandmamma and Granddaddy, and so you shall be until the end of time."  
  
"Wherever did he pick up those specific terms, though? We've never used them." Bill mused.  
  
"No clue, but he seems to like them." Lily said to her puzzled in laws. They nodded. Suddenly Bill seemed to notice something, and pushed Harry's untidy hair back from his forehead.  
  
"Where in the world did he pick up a scar like that?" Bill asked worriedly. Lily and James shook their heads.  
  
"We don't know. He didn't actually get /hit/ with anything. It was there after Harry stopped You-Know-Who from killing me and Lily. . ." At the shocked looks on his parents faces, James slowed down. "Maybe I'd better start at the beginning." His father nodded.  
  
"I think you'd better."  
  
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"Wow," was all Bill Potter, highly educated wizard, could get past his lips when James and Lily were through telling their story.  
  
"Yeah." James responded.  
  
"By himself?"  
  
"Well, I cast the killing curse, but Harry's the one who gave me that chance. If not for him, we'd all be dead. Except, maybe for him." James saw his mother's lips tremble as she held Harry closer, eliciting a small squeak from the child. Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide.  
  
"Lily! Do your parents know what happened?" Lily shook her head. "Well, then you need to go talk to them. Are they connected to the floo network?" This time, Lily nodded, still mute. "Good! You and James go visit them, and then come back here and I'll keep Harry while you and your father go and clear out the house at Godric's Hollow." Beth's voice left no room for argument. Lily knew she was right. She needed to go talk to her parents.  
"We'll be back soon, I promise. Don't go anywhere!" Bill and Beth laughed as Beth handed Harry to James.  
  
"Don't worry, we won't."  
  
"Umm, Beth?" Beth looked at Lily quizzically, due to the tone of uncertainty in her voice. "Given James' track record with floo powder, maybe you'd better hand Harry here." James looked abashed, but his parents thought this remark was hysterically funny. Lily was hard put to make her voice calm enough to shout into the now-green flames:  
  
"David and Rose Evan's House!"  
  
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A moment later Lily found herself facing the same situation James had been upon entering Potter Manor. Her mother was curled up on the sofa watching television instead of reading a book, though. She looked up, quite surprised that her daughter and grandson were standing in her fireplace, slightly sooty.  
  
"Hi, Mum."  
  
"Hello, dear. Is James coming?" Rose asked, trying to cover her surprise.  
"Oh, yes, he'll be along momentarily," Lily answered, stepping out of the fireplace just as the flames began to roar green again. A moment later, there was James, once again on his backside in a fireplace, this time muttering to himself.  
  
"Oh, bugger. One of these days I'll get this right. You'd think a gown wizard, been doing this all his life, would at least be able to keep his feet, but no. . ."  
  
"James dear, say hello to Mum." Lily said, trying to cover her hilarity by keeping her face hid mostly behind Harry's small head. James, however, caught that he was being laughed at, and scowled good naturedly at his wife.  
  
"Hello, Rose, how are you today?"  
  
"Oh, fine. What brings you two here?" Her daughter and son-in-law looked at each other nervously, and sat sown on the loveseat across the coffee table form Rose's sofa.  
  
"Erm, well, you see mum, we changed our mailing address slightly. We thought that we might want to tell you to address letters and packages to James' parents Manor house for a while. . ."  
  
"Why exactly is that, sweetie?" Rose asked. Lily was just about to answer when she heard a deep rumble behind her.  
  
"Doesn't a father rate a kiss anymore, ma'am?" Lily smiled widely, and all but throwing Harry at James, leaped up to throw her arms around her father and plant a kiss squarely in the middle of his right cheek.  
  
"Hi, Daddy!"  
  
"How's my girl? Been treating her right, Potter?" David Evans asked his son-in-law good naturedly. James didn't cringe at the use of his surname, he knew that David meant it in the nicest possible way.  
  
"She doesn't complain, sir." David turned to his daughter, who nodded happily.  
  
"Good. Now, what's been going on with you two lately?" James and Lily both froze, the smiles on their face suddenly not quite so sincere. Lily sighed, and began to explain what had happened for the second time that day.  
  
"Well, Mum, Daddy, it's like this. . ."  
  
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When Lily had finished her story, with regular additions from James, both of her parents were white in the face and gripping each others hands on the sofa. They were having trouble accepting what their daughter was telling them, but they also knew she wouldn't make up something like this. No matter what Petunia said, they still loved their older daughter, and the thought of an evil wizard trying to kill her was shocking to the muggle couple.  
  
"Lily, why exactly would this Voldemort fellow want to kill you? Or James, for that matter?"  
  
Lily looked at James, who nodded that they should tell the worried parents the truth. "It's because I'm not a 'pureblood' wizard. You-kn-well, I guess /you/ don't really know who, do you? /VOLDEMORT/ wanted to eradicate all witches and wizards who weren't of pure blood. Clean out the gene pool, so to say. And that included Harry, for having non-magic blood, and James, because he was a 'muggle-lover'-he married me." Lily looked at her hands. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner that we were in danger, but we just didn't want to worry you. You were trying so hard to see Petunia and her baby-what did she name him again? Dudley?"  
  
Rose nodded, her face becoming sad. "Yes, Dudley. He takes after his father, you know. Great oaf of a man. Took our daughter away from us. . .she won't even speak to us now. . .and if we had lost you three, we'd have nothing left. . ." Rose's eyes teared up, and she quickly dashed those tears away, drawing a deep breath. Harry, still in James' lap, saw his grandmothers tears. Lily noted a thoughtful look that passed over Harry's face.  
  
/He sure thinks a lot for a one-year-old/ Lily though to herself. Her thoughts were stopped short, however by a loud "Gama!" from Harry. /Wow/ thought Lily. /This seems to be grandparent-naming day. Talk about deja- vu, all over again!/ The adults laughed at Harry's enthusiastic shout. Harry must have remembered his 'Ganddaddy's' response at Potter Manor earlier, though, as he turned immediately to Lily's father and voiced a loud "Gapa!"  
  
The adults laughed again. This time it was James who spoke. "Well, we have a complete set of Grandparents. You are apparently 'Grandma and Grandpa', and my parents are 'Grandmamma and Granddaddy'. Quite a distinction for such a little bloke, hmm" James leaned around and looked his son in the face. "Is there anything else you'd like to get out of your system while we're on the subject, little man?" Harry shook his head.  
  
Once again, Lily was struck by how much her little boy seemed to be able to process. So much for such a little head. /What goes on in there?/ she wondered as she proceeded to say goodbye to her parents, explaining that she and James needed to get back to the Manor, and over to Godric's Hollow if they expected to clear out the house by tonight. They politely declined offers of help, promised to look after themselves, and flooed back to Potter Manor. The rest of the day was going to be busy indeed. . .  
  
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Okay, reader input here. Do I do a little bit from Harry's POV? Is anyone interested in that? I think it would be highly interesting. What happened depends entirely on responses!  
  
I'm sorry if this chapter is a little slow or repetitive. I tried reworking it, but this is just the way it wanted to go, no matter what I tried. Beth, Bill, Rose and David have minds of their own, folks; don't blame me, blame them! ::As the grandparents vigorously shake their heads and hide behind the author, the cowards. . .::  
  
Oh, shameless plug for something other than fan fiction! If any of you have ever heard of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, you /REALLY/ (note the italics, bold type, /and/ capital letters. I'm serious about this, folks!) have to check out their album "Beethoven's Last Night". It is truly awesome in the truest sense of the word. Download some of the songs! Buy the album! It's simply beautiful. Listen to as much as you can, they are stunningly beautiful. They also do great Christmas music, so get those CD burners warmed up, boys and girls! You can also check out the website of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and get the story of "Beethoven's Last Night", not to mention Lyrics and everything else, at www.trans- siberian.com  
  
Remember, reviews are wonderful things, so please, 'Leave a contribution in the little box' ::As Labyrinth fans fall over at my exceedingly out-of- place quoting. . .::  
  
~Desertrain 


	5. Back To Godric's Hollow

Hello, dear readers! I'm glad you came back! I've been struggling to write this bit, as it contains Harry's POV. Some of you asked if he was supposed to be some kind of genius or something, but I'm really not trying to write him that way. He's just a smarter than average kid. My sister and I started talking around a year old, my first words being "Dr. Who" (for those of you who don't know, it was a really cool early science fiction show that ran for a really long time. My mom actually got to meet Tom Baker, the best of the seven 'Dr. Whos', and he was thrilled. I still think he's one of the best British actors of all time. I also think he'd make a great Dumbledore. . .). Anyway, a kid begins to assimilate all the sounds used in their native language as soon as they're born, pretty much, so I figure that if a kid's smart, then he ought to be able to piece together /some/ of those sounds at a year. Also, I guess you could kind of base his mental capacities on those for Lowis Lowry's character of Sam Krupnik, Anastasia Krupnik's little brother. That's not quite what I was thinking for the character, but it works. You get a very detailed look into the working's of baby Sam's mind. For those of you who haven't read the Anastasia Krupnik books, I highly suggest them. They're kids books, and quick reads, but are definitely entertaining on a rainy afternoon.  
  
By the way, in this chapter, I went for describing Harry's baby thoughts with some adult words. These seem like the rambling thoughts I had as a baby (and yes, before questions are asked, I remember very clearly how I used to think as a small child. As I'm 20 years old, it's really rather strange, but there you go.), and worked for me when trying to describe those thoughts. They're not word for word what he's thinking, but more of a description of those thoughts.  
  
Anyways, thanks to all of my reviewers for chapter 4! Just for a short list of recognition, to know I love you, here you are:  
  
Kitty; Kaelli Karali; PeachDancer82; LadyMacbeth; eLeNa; Roxxy M.; AnGeL*Of*MiNe; Skysong; englishgirl; Hot4Remus and Hot4Draco; Anastacia- Gwydion; and Jordan  
  
Special Reviewer prizes go to those who have left multiple reviews! These are:  
  
princess55; Pantherocker; citrus scented; freakyfroggurl22; Alexa Donaghy; CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur; GunSmoke; Doe (thanks for having me on your favorites list!); Shaye(I've enjoyed our e-mails a lot! I love getting to know my reviewers.) ;and Princess Malfoy (I beta read her stuff, it's beautiful! Go read it!)  
  
Thanks again to all of you. Hint: If you leave a review, you get your name in the chapters, too! See, I give prizes to good reviewers!  
  
Oh, one semi-swear word. Not even a full blown one, so if I get in trouble, I'm going to be royally PO-ed.  
  
Anyhow, on with the tale.  
  
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As his Mummy and Daddy stepped back into the living room of Daddy's Mummy and Daddy, Harry looked around the room from his perch in his Mummy's arms. He was really tired. Last night, something bad had happened. A bad man had come into the house and tried to hurt his Mummy and Daddy! Harry didn't know what had happened after that, but Mummy said that he was a good boy and that he had done good things. Harry didn't know anything except that he hadn't wanted his Daddy to get hurt, so he had said so, and then there was a bright light, and his forehead hurt. It still did, a little bit, but not a lot. And today, when he called to his Grandmamma and Granddaddy, and then to his Grandma and Grandpa, the big people had made all kinds of fuss. Harry didn't understand that. He knew who these people were, they were his family! Why shouldn't he say their names? The sounds felt strange in his mouth, because he hadn't said them a lot, but he knew them okay! Well, if they started making a fuss again, he'd have to tell them to stop. He didn't know many words yet, but he knew 'Daddy' and 'Mummy' and 'No!' and 'Hurt'(he skinned his knees a lot when he tried to walk like Daddy-he knew all about hurt. But a kiss from Mummy on his hurt usually helped that.) and now he knew he could say the names of his Grandmamma and Granddaddy and Grandma and Grandpa. Harry felt very contented with himself and his knowledge. But he was still tired. Trying to decide whether to fuss or just fall asleep in his mothers arms, Harry chose the second alternative. Yawning, he closed his eyes and leaned into the comforting warmth of his Mummy. She would always be there to keep him safe.  
  
He knew it.  
  
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As Lily and James stepped into his parent's living room, Lily felt Harry look around, yawn, and lay his head on her shoulder. She tightened her arms around him, before asking Beth if she could take Harry upstairs and put him down for a nap.  
  
"Of course, dear! Oh, the poor wee thing must be exhausted. Here, I'll go up with you, I'm sure we still have a cradle around here someplace. . ." With that Rose Potter led her daughter-in-law and grandson up the stairs of Potter Manor, to look for James' old cradle. When they were up the stairs and safely out of earshot, Bill Potter turned seriously to his son. James took a deep breath, and returned his father's gaze.  
  
"We told her parents that they came after us simply because of Muggle blood in the family. They wouldn't have taken it well if they knew we fight against Voldemort. They're so afraid of losing their daughter. I can't blame them, the thought of them getting hurt scares the hell out of me, too." Bill nodded. He understood what his son was going through. James and Lily had been in the forefront of the resistance against Voldemort, and for that reason, they were targets. Now, though, since Voldemort was apparently gone, maybe the little family could rest. Suddenly, Bill's head snapped up to look at James.  
  
"James, what was done with You-Know-Who's body?"  
  
"Oh, Dumbledore called the Ministry of Magic first thing after we appeared in his office. They had Aurors on the scene before five minutes had passed. It seems that one of the Death Eaters got a little over- enthusiastic and cast the Dark Mark over the house before the job was finished, so they had all the proof they needed. Voldemort's wand was snapped immediately, and his body was taken and burned. They definitely wanted to make sure that he was gone." James gestured his father over to a couch, and they sat down. James smiled at the similarity of their postures as they sat: both with their legs slightly open, both leaning back into the couch with their arms crossed, right over left, across their chests. Bill spoke again when they had settled themselves.  
  
"Do you want to go clean out the house today? There's time to do it, if we're quick. We could go and leave Harry and Lily here with Rose, I don't think we need much more help to put shrinking charms on everything and get it over here. . ." Bill was cut off by the annoyed voice of his daughter- in-law.  
  
"Oh, no you don't! When that house is cleaned out, I'm going to be there. I lived there, too, and I'm not going to be left out!"  
  
James stepped quickly in. "We weren't trying to leave you out of anything, sweetheart. We just didn't know if you'd want to go, because we /aren't/ taking Harry, and we weren't sure that you'd want to leave him."  
  
Lily's eyes narrowed, but she accepted the response. "You wouldn't mind looking after him, would you, Beth?" she asked the woman who had come down the stairs behind her. Beth shook her head.  
  
"I have a feeling the angel's going to be sleeping for a few hours. He had a late night last night, and an early rise this morning."  
  
Lily smiled, she knew that Harry's sleep schedule had been thrown off horribly for the past day. "Thank you, Beth. I know you'll look after him." Lily turned to her husband and father-in-law. "When are we going?"  
  
James looked at his father. "Now?"  
  
Bill nodded. "Might as well."  
  
Since they didn't have a baby with them this time, the three adults headed out to the backyard, past the anti-apparition wards, to Apparate to Godric's Hollow. They took one look at the house, and immediately, all thoughts of saving anything of great value died.  
  
The house was in shambles. The windows were all blown out, the doors were gone, and half the roof was caved in. The entire outside of the house was covered in black smoke stains, overlaying the pale blue shade that the house had been before. It looked like after James, Lily, and Harry had used the portkey, the remaining Death Eaters had tried to set the house on fire. They hadn't been able to do enough to totally destroy the house, due to the appearance of Aurors, but enough damage had been done to render the house unlivable. Lily caught herself even wondering if there was anything in the house worth saving. As her mind began to function again, Lily realized that the section of roof over the bedrooms was still intact. /Merciful Merlin/, she thought, /that means that our bedrooms should be alright!/  
  
The trio began to head into the house, careful to watch for dangerous holes and weak spots in the floor. The house reeked of smoke, but as they went up the stairs, the smell dissipated some. It seemed that the fire had mostly taken the ground floor, which meant that much of the furniture and family trinkets were ruined. But the important things were in the bedrooms: clothes, pictures, treasured books, odds and ends.  
  
As James, Lily, and Bill stepped into James and Lily's bedroom, they were once again stopped, stunned at what lay before them.  
  
The room had been totally ransacked. Clothes were all over the floor, the bed was dismantled, any glass had been smashed-that included the large ornate vanity mirror. After a moment, Lily regained enough of her physical ability to run into Harry's room. That was trashed, too, just as badly as the master bedroom. Lily sank down onto the floor, catching up a singed yellow baby blanket that was on the floor. After only seconds, Lily felt the arms of her husband around her. She turned around so that she could bury her face in his shoulder, and wept.  
  
"What kind of people would ransack a baby's room?! A /BABY'S/ room!!" Lily sobbed into James' shoulder. He held her tight, rocking gently back and forth in a comforting way, making soothing sounds. From the doorway, Bill watched his only son comfort the woman her had taken as his wife. It was obvious from the look in James' eyes at that moment that James, though showing his soft side to Lily, was ready to kill the people who had done this to his family.  
  
The look in James' eyes was frightening.  
  
Bill hoped that the Death Eaters that had escaped knew what they were up against, because not even Merlin's own mercy could help them escape James Potter.  
  
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Yay! Another chapter done. I'm going out of town for a few days, so I won't be posting for awhile. I hope this chapter was up to par, it was kind of rushed, as I wanted to get something out before I left. Not a whole lot happens, but you found out what was done with Voldie! And yes, before any questions, Voldie /is/ dead. Gone. Taking the eternal celestial dirt nap. Tango Uniform. BUT! That doesn't mean James and Lily are going to have it easy. We still need to find Pettigrew! That means. . .Sirius and Remus! I enjoy writing them. They're fun.  
  
Up next: I really don't know. I think something was mentioned about a second anniversary coming up for James and Lily? Oh, I wonder what Sirius is going to cook up for them. . .(  
  
Okay! It's time! The review button is your friend! Please use it, it makes me so happy to see my mailbox full of reviews!  
  
Thanks, ~Desertrain 


	6. A Place To Call Home

Hello, all! I am /SO/ sorry that I haven't updated in forever. But I went and got myself a job like a /real/ adult would do, and so I'm working 8 hours a day plus everything else I have to do around the house. ::sigh:: And when I was little, I couldn't wait to grow up. I no longer understand my eagerness to achieve adulthood. And plus all that, I have some HUGE writers block. Life truly sucks occasionally, doesn't it?  
  
About Order of the Phoenix-WAHH!!! I cried for a day. Over a book. Oh, well, the good ones will do that to you, I guess. I'm not gonna say who dies, just in case someone hasn't finished the book yet, but if you /have/ read the book, you can go check out the eulogy I wrote! It's called 'It Hurts', and it's from one character's POV Summary reads thus:  
  
"One man gives the one eulogy that he had hoped against hope that he would not be called on to deliver."  
  
I was quite pleased with it, and would be even more pleased if some of you would go read it and tell me what you think of it. Thanks, I love you all!!!  
  
And now, I just want to say thank you to all of my /GREAT/ reviewers! You are:  
  
Ron's Secret Admirer-::blushes:: Thanks! I'm not catching any blaring mistakes, but I've already changed the universe enough with the survival of Lily and James that I'm not overly worried. I hope you continue to read, and if there /is/ something that sticks out like a sore thumb, would you lease let me know? Thanks again for your review!  
  
Ella-No evil Harry, I promise! We are going to see more of him in a couple of chapters. I'm thinking there's going to HAVE to be a time elapse, but I'm not quite sure how to do it yet. . .  
  
Chocolate Taco-::cowers from rolled-up newspaper:: No! Here's your chapter! I'm sorry it took so long, I tried! See above statements!!!  
  
Hillary-::more blushes, while still cowering from newspaper:: Thanks!! I honestly have no clue where this story is going. You'll know as soon as I do!  
  
Childrentheemuisnotatoy-I'm sorry you didn't like Harry's POV. I did the best I could, but it really isn't easy to write a child's thoughts down, as they're more feelings than words. I was trying to convey Harry's annoyance at being fussed over, and his faith that his mum would always be there to keep him safe from everything. I hope you keep reading in spite of spots like that. Thanks for reviewing with your honest opinion!  
  
citrus scented-Hopefully I'll be able to answer you question in this chapter. Maybe. We'll see. Truth is, even as I'm writing this reply, I really don't know what's gonna happen next. Damn writers block. . .  
  
And I just want to say thank you to all the rest of you, I really appreciate your reviews-especially those who have been with me from the beginning on this one, and you know who you are:  
  
Dark /-)ngel; Mark Scotson; AnGeL*Of*MiNe; Skysong; TraSh; Bebe-chrissy; CpriceAnn Hedican-Kocur; Princess 55; freakyfroggurl22; Pantherocker; citrus scented; MerlinHalliwell; and Jordan.  
  
Ya'll rock my world!  
  
And now, as we all know the proper disclaimers and I really don't feel like writing them again, we return you to your not-so-regularly scheduled story!  
  
~Desertrain  
  
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Cleaning out the remains of the house in Godric's Hollow took the rest of the day. Lily, James, and Bill salvaged what they could with /reparo/ charms, and left the rest. When they walked back into Potter Manor after Apparating from Godric's Hollow, Beth was feeding Harry his dinner at the large kitchen table. Lily, exhausted though she was, took over this job-to Harry's obvious delight. James looked at his wife and child, inwardly cringing at what had almost happened to them the night before.  
  
/Ye Gods, was it only last night? It seems like forever ago. . .I can't believe what they did to our home. . .I think I'm going to kill some Death Eaters when I find them. . ./ James thought. Bill caught the look on James' face as it went from worried to furious. He beckoned his son to follow him into the living room, away from Lily and Beth, who were chatting about baby feeding (interspersed with some amusing anecdotes from Beth's personal experience with James, if their laughter was any indication. . .)  
  
"Don't worry about her, son. If any two people can take her mind off f today, it's Beth and Harry."  
  
James nodded. "I know, Dad." Looking down, James head nod turned into a shake. "It just makes me so angry, you know? Yes, Voldemort may be gone, but he's not the one who wrecked the house. The ones who are responsible for that are still out there. And as much as I want to be with Lily and Harry at the moment, all I can think about is getting back to work at the Ministry, back to the Auror offices so that I can go find the bastards." James looked at his father, a somewhat lost look on his face. "I've never wanted to kill anyone before, Dad, not for anything they've done. I didn't even /want/ to kill Voldemort; he should have had his power stripped and gone to Azkaban. But I want to kill the Death Eaters for what they did; for the things that they made Lily deal with. . ." His voice cracked a bit, and James stopped to clear his throat. "I just don't know that things are going to get any better, even if the Dark Lord is gone. So many others will try to rise up in his place."  
  
Bill watched his son run his hands through his messy black hair-the hair that James had inherited from his father, and Harry from James. He understood what James was trying to say; he had always known that he would kill anyone who tried to hurt Beth, and that fierce protection had extended to cover James when he had come along. But instead of telling James this, he just put a hand on his son's shoulder.  
  
"Jim," James scowled at the use of his childhood nickname, one he loathed now, "You know that your mum and I love Lily and Harry like they were our own, right?"  
  
"Yes. . ." James relied, suspicious at this opening. His father usually did not open up a conversation with something like this unless what was coming afterward was serious.  
  
"And you know that when mum and I pass on-no, don't give me that look, you know it's going to happen eventually-you know that when we pass that the Manor will be yours, right?"  
  
"Yeesss. . .," James said it more slowly this time, more suspiciously than before. "What are you getting at, Dad?"  
  
"Well," said Bill slowly, "Your mother and I have been thinking. You should bring Lily and Harry here. Make the Manor your home, James. It's always been a haven for you, and anyway, we would love to have you."  
  
James just stared at his father. He knew, intellectually, that he was to inherit the Manor form his parents. He was, after all, their only child. He had just not planned on living there again for a very long time, at least not until his parents were very old. Seeing James' hesitation, and taking it for disagreement, Bill began talking very fast.  
  
"Come on, Jim! You want to protect them, right? Well, hell, there are more protective spells on this mansion than even on Malfoy Manor. The only place you would e safer is Hogwarts, but I think you three would be much more comfortable here. We'd give you an entire wing to yourselves if you'd like, you'd not even have to see us if you wanted privacy! I'm sure the house elves would be happy to fix up any rooms you want to your liking, and- "  
  
Bill stopped when James held his hands up. "Okay, Dad, okay! Lily, Harry, and myself'd be safe. But what about you and Mum? If people know that we're living here, then you two become targets, too! If something happened to you and it was because of me. . ."  
  
Bill turned his son to face him straight on, and looked directly into his eyes. "We know, son. But our only concern at this moment is to protect you. That's been our job since you were born, and now it's expanded to include your wife and child. Please, son, let us do our job."  
  
James and Bill stood in the middle of the living room, staring into each other's eyes. They were mirror images of each other, the only difference in their ages. Finally, James nodded his consent. "Okay, Dad. I have to talk to Lily, but we'll stay."  
  
"Consider Lily talked to. Damned straight we're staying." Lily walked into the room from the direction of the kitchen. She laughed at the surprised look on the faces of her husband and father-in-law. "Beth gave me a talking to in the kitchen. She brought me around." Lily stepped up beside James, who wrapped an arm around her waist.  
  
"Where's Harry?" James asked Lily, craning his neck to see into the kitchen.  
  
"Oh, Beth's putting him to bed. She's better at it than I am-must have been the practice with you." Lily looked at her husband with a mischievous glint in her eyes.  
  
/Yep. Mum was definitely tale-telling./ James though, but he didn't mind. Lily seemed momentarily to have put today behind her.  
  
James was able to hold that belief exactly as long as it took to say goodnight to Bill, and to Beth, who they met as they were heading up the stairs to their bedroom. Lily stopped to look in on Harry, and James watched her as he leaned against the doorframe. Lily leaned over the antique crib, the one that had held James when he was Harry's age. A look of intense sadness passed over Lily's face.  
  
"James," she whispered, "Why would someone try to hurt him? Just to get at us? Just for defying a stupid 'Dark Lord'?" Lily stroked Harry's cheek lightly, causing him to sigh and wiggle a bit in his sleep. "He's so small, so helpless. . ." Lily's voice was so soft that James could hardly hear it, but he caught the slight break in the whisper. He was unable to speak, due to the lump that had arisen in his own throat at Lily's thoughts. He just opened his arms to his wife, and she immediately ran into his embrace. All of the events of the past two days finally came crashing down on the couple, and James and Lily Potter were finally able to cry over the loss of the last vestiges of their innocence. . .  
  
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"Come on, Moony! It'll be fun! James and Lily haven't had enough of that here lately. They'll thank us later, you'll see! Please!?!?!" Sirius had tried everything else to get Remus to go along with his plans, and now he was down to begging. Remus had been amused, but now he was annoyed.  
  
"Let me get this straight. You want to take James and Lily, who have just lived through one of the most horrific and scarring experiences possible, /clubbing/ for they're second /wedding/ anniversary, when you know perfectly well that they have a baby waiting at home. Am I correct?" Remus cocked an eyebrow at Sirius, who nodded vigorously.  
  
"Uh-huh!" Sirius said brightly.  
  
Remus thought for a moment, then looked at Sirius, who was looking at Remus hopefully. They stood there for a moment just looking at each other. Remus had a sudden mental picture of James in one of the popular nightclubs, and of Lily trying to pull him out onto the dance floor to dance to some that awful new 'techno' dance music that had been popular since Disco had started to decline. Sirius could practically see this image flit into Remus' mind, and they broke into identical, mischievous grins at the thought. Remus nodded.  
  
"Okay."  
  
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Okay, I know it's short, but I figure better short and half-way decent than long and horrible. Next time: James? Clubbing? What have Lily's 'rents been doing? And just where has Peter Pettigrew gone, anyhow? Tune in and find out!  
  
Oh, I may have to up the rating in later chapters. How many of you have a problem with this? In all honesty, it shouldn't go above a PG-13. But still, let me know!  
  
Now, there's this little review button down and to the left of the screen. . .a little further. . .there! Right there! Now, if you click on it, you can tell me what you think! Please do, and thank you! ^__^ Hugs to everyone!  
  
~Desertrain 


	7. Revelations Aren't Always Good Things

Oh, wow. Wow, wow, wow. So, how many of you really, really want to kill me now? I apologize for the wait, I really do, but I'm in the middle of my junior year at college, I have a job, I have homework, I have only the tiniest bit of social life, and if I want to sleep, too, then I don't get to write much. Hopefully, I'll have more time for it next semester. But here's a chapter in the meantime!  
  
Just to let you know, I still have no plot for this story. Nope, some vague ideas, but other than that, no clue where the story is going. I've gotten some good ideas from my reviewers-and you know who you are, you'll all get plugs at the end of the chapter!-so I'm going to go from there.  
  
Oh, by the way, ff.net removed part of my story, that was the authors note. Sorry! I now have an account at www.adultfanfiction.net, so look for me there!  
  
To all of my wonderful reviewers, thank you so much! I love you all! Unfortunately, there have been so many, that a list would take the rest of the night, but I might do a thank you to everyone in the last chapter, whenever that comes around. But thank you for reviewing, and I hope you keep it up!  
  
Okay ::deep breath:: On with the show!  
  
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James and Lily stood in Harry's room for what seemed like hours, but must have only been minutes. Slowly, slowly, they disentangles their arms, and turned back towards their own room, which attached to their son's. As they did all their nightly chores such as teeth brushing and face washing, Each were lost in their own thoughts. It wasn't until they curled up together in bed that Lily spoke.  
  
"James, I saw that look on your face in the kitchen. What are you going to do?" she asked. James was quiet for several seconds, and Lily felt his chest rise and fall with a deep breath under her cheek.  
  
"I don't know, love. Part of me just wants to rush off to the office, and get help tracking down every single Death Eater left, but I know that's not practical. The other part of me wants to go vigilante and run off and obliterate every Death Eater I find, and that's just plain stupid. I just don't know what will happen." Lily nodded her head, before asking another question.  
  
"Does Harry seem. . .different to you since last night?"  
  
"Different? Different how?" James replied, curious.  
  
"Well. . .smarter? More inclined to thoughtfulness than other one year olds?"  
  
James thought back over the day. Harry really hadn't been talking until the night before. James had just put it down to the fact that he had nothing to say, when he got ready he would talk. But last night, he had spoken for the first time more words than a novice talker should use. The 'No!' was understandable, but the rest? And that before he had even thrown his magical shield into place. And then the sudden appearance of Grandmamma, Grandaddy, Grandma and Grandpa in Harry's vocabulary from nowhere? And James did have to admit noticing the thoughtful looks on his son's face. So he nodded.  
  
"Yes, I had noticed. You think it had something to do with last night?"  
  
"It had to have," Lily replied. "I just don't know what. Poppy went over him, there seems to be nothing wrong with him-leastways, not health-wise." Lily shook her head. "I just don't know."  
  
James kissed Lily's head. "We can't worry about it tonight, we'll never get any sleep. Tomorrow, you and Harry can go back and see Poppy again, and I'll go into the office and start working on things there. Everything'll be alright in the end, you'll see." James promised, begging any deity that would listen to prove him right. Lily raised her head and looked James square in the eye.  
  
"Promise me one thing-that you won't do anything rash. I came close enough to losing you once already, I don't want to ever feel that way again." A slight twinkle came into Lily's eyes in spite of the seriousness of the situation. "If you die, I swear I'll hunt down your ghost and kill you again, hear?" James smiled sadly.  
  
"I hear. Don't worry." James reached his head up and gently kissed Lily on the lips. "You won't lose me." With that, they both lay back down, and drifted off to sleep.  
  
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DREAM SEQUENCE  
  
"You won't hurt Lily or Harry. I won't let you."  
  
James heard the words coming out of his mouth, but they were accompanied by a strong sense of déjà vu. He had said this before. And he knew the reply. The cold voice, the surge of power ripping his wand from his hand, the beginning of a deadly curse. He knew this was a dream, but he had to follow the course of what had happened. James readied himself for death. . .but it did not come. Instead, he saw a part of the proceedings that had been ripped from his memory in the action, one huge fact that he had overlooked.  
  
His son. Harry, barely one year old, crying out-no, /demanding/ the Dark Lord to cease the attack on James. Looking towards Harry and Lily, James saw something frightening, yet wonderful. He saw his wife and infant son, but in front of them a vision appeared. A tall, lithe young man, about 18 years old. Much like James he was, but with Lily's green eyes. James felt his breath catch in his throat. He heard his son shout in his infant attempt at English "Not hurt daddy!", and saw a small hand raise. At the same time, the apparition extended it's own hand, and it's eyes blazed. White light emanated from the child, through the ghost of what Harry was to grow into, and hurtled towards James, creating a wall that the Killing Curse bounced off of. Into Voldemort. James, in his dream state, could watch the course of the magic through the room. He watched as some of Voldemort's power drained into the shield Harry had created. He watched as this power was pulled into Harry as the shield of elemental magic was drawn back into the small boy. As his dream body completed the actions which had taken place that night, James realized what this meant.  
  
Harry had Voldemort's power.  
  
They had wondered over the scar that Harry now carried on his forehead. They had wondered about his seemingly growing intelligence. And now, James knew where it had come from.  
  
END DREAM SEQUENCE  
  
At this revelation, James woke up with a shout. Lily sat straight up in bed beside him, crying out her alarm.  
  
"WHAT! What is it, James, what's wrong?" She looked into the white face of her husband, softly lit with the barely rising sun through the window, and saw fear in his eyes.  
  
"Harry. Harry got his power." Lilly looked confused, but realization slowly dawned on her.  
  
"How do you know?" She asked.  
  
"I told you and Dumbledore, there was a small part of what happened I couldn't remember? I was standing there waiting for the curse to hit me and then I was shielded?" Lily nodded. "I had a dream. I remember what I saw now." And he related the dream to Lily in it's entirety. She sat, stunned, for a moment, before with a small sob, Lily's head drooped to James' shoulder.  
  
"My God." She choked out. "What did he do to our baby?"  
  
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Yes, I know. TOO SHORT! But it's a chapter, that's all I can say. This really was the best place to end it, and frankly, it's good to have it out. So, let me know what you think of this chapter while you wait for the next ones. Thanks for reading!!! 


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